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Weight Loss Surgery Support: Daily Inspiration for December 14, 2010
Katie Jay, MSW

Put off the next bite.
                    
If you are having a day in which you are thinking about food nonstop, you can adopt some strategies to get you through for the short run, and start a process to overcome your grazing or emotional eating in the long run.

To stop the grazing in the short run, try putting off your eating. One strategy is to set a timer to go off when you can have your next meal, and keep yourself busy until you hear the bell. Another is to start a task that will take up all your time until your next meal. Tell yourself you'll eat when you've gotten all your papers filed, for example.

Action for the day:  If you have the urge to graze today, put it off by using a new strategy. Then, in your journal, write about how you were feeling when you began to crave the food, and how it felt to use your new strategy instead of eating.
© 2007, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. All rights reserved. Daily Inspirations are provided by the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Get our free report,  How to Regain-Proof Your Weight Loss Surgery at www.nawls.com.

Your Scale and You

Unlike other plans that recommend weighing in weekly or less often, we advise you to weigh yourself daily.

"Daily?" you ask. Yes! Studies show that people who weigh themselves daily are more successful at long-term weight loss than those who weigh themselves weekly. Experts speculate that frequent weigh-ins remind you of your goals and help keep you motivated. At the Duke Diet & Fitness Center (DFC), we feel that an essential part of this daily weighing strategy is tracking your weight on a graph. A graph helps you to see the big picture: Rather than focusing on one day's number, you're looking at trends over several days, weeks, or months. There's nothing more motivating than seeing that line move downward over time!

We also like graphs because they can help you to become accustomed to the fact that the number on the scale does fluctuate each day. The line won't always move downward, and that's okay. Weight normally varies from day to day, based on factors like how much water your body is retaining, among others. We find that seeing these normal fluctuations on a graph keeps our clients at the DFC from getting discouraged by them — they look past the little ups and downs and focus on the larger trends.

Another advantage to graphing with daily weigh-ins is that it helps you self-monitor more effectively. If you see your weight beginning to trend in the wrong direction, you can take steps to nip that trend in the bud.

Of course, weighing in daily isn't right for everyone. If you've ever had an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia or if you find it extremely upsetting to get on the scale, you should talk to your doctor or mental health–care provider. Otherwise, give it a try and see how it works for you!

If daily weighing is a good strategy for you, we encourage you to keep it up — even after you meet your weight goals. Research has shown that people who've lost weight and continue to weigh themselves regularly afterward are better able to keep the weight off. So plan to make your friendship with your scale a lifelong one. Doing so will greatly increase your chances of both short-term and lifelong success.

Based on the world-renowned Duke Diet & Fitness Center Residential Program in Durham, North Carolina, Duke Diet & Fitness Online applies the same proven approach to weight loss: diet, fitness, behavioral strategies, and medical expertise.

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I'm a day late but I'm super grateful!

(and I quoted you in my blog today)
BLOG POST

Today I am grateful

that my family and fur babies are all healthy today

that I am spending some time with my husband and some friends this evening for a holiday get together

that I have been spared from the prison of obesity for yet another day

that I have a wonderful group of people here that mean so much to me

that Ramon is not a Jet's fan and he got rid of the CAB

hugs Y

What a great post....or posts if you count the previous one.  I like this quote about gratitude:

“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful." — Buddha

A co-worker of mine has a tradition each evening at their dinner table.   She, her husband, and young son and daughter take turns explaining something that happened that day for which they are grateful.  I admire that so much.....but have not implemented that myself.  I do find that my husband and I routinely try to say how fortunate we are to have each other, our health, our beautiful home, etc.  It's important to keep gratitude in the front of our minds in order to lead a more fullfilling and satisfied life.

Thanks for the reminder!!

There is nothing to be honored about me sharing.. I am the one that should be honored to have you in my life.. Thank you for everything.. I love you..